It's a slippery slope changing Mass Effect 3's ending

Don't worry — there are no spoilers in this article. I'm merely a little ticked off that BioWare announced that they are listening to fans and thus releasing DLC that will give further closure to fans unhappy with Mass Effect 3's ending.

Today, BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka said:

Building on their research, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey. You'll hear more on this in April. We're working hard to maintain the right balance between the artistic integrity of the original story while addressing the fan feedback we've received. This is in addition to our existing plan to continue providing new Mass Effect content and new full games, so rest assured that your journey in the Mass Effect universe can, and will, continue.

If you hated the ending and felt that none of your choices throughout the three games mattered in the end, and that there's too many unanswered questions, then congrats — you win.

My main concern is the artistic integrity of the people who crafted this story. You have every right to be angry about how the trilogy ended, but I think it has gone too far. You should not be able to return a game for full price after playing through the entire game, loving it, and then hating the ending. You played the whole thing.

Unhappy fans are forcing BioWare's hand. This is the ending they made; they thought it was an appropriate way to end the trilogy. Now, they are going to either change the events of the ending, or make more content to have to clear up everything fans are complaining about.

When did we, as a society, get to the point where we need a clear cut answer to what something means or how it ends? Why is there no place for interpretation, which I'm personally finding to be the most satisfying part about Mass Effect 3 — the conversation.

If the fan uprising forced more from BioWare, where does it stop?

I don't think Mona Lisa is attractive, so we should raise money to paint some bigger boobs on her.

I wasn't happy that Remus Lupin died in the finale of Harry Potter. But it happened. It was J.K. Rowling's world and thoughts and ideas — she can do what she likes with them. I didn't ask for her to change it or for my money back.

I thought all of the latest Indiana Jones movie was enjoyable, and then we got to the ending. However, I didn't ask for my money back. I didn't tell George Lucas to write another version (he'll do that on his own eventually) of the ending so I can be happier. I paid money going in to see a movie that I did not know the ending to. It is their choice how to end it. You took the risk of paying your money to see a movie/play a game.

That's what all of this comes down to... a risk.

I consider the creation and crafting of games an art. It doesn't get nearly enough respect, and right now, we aren't treating BioWare with the respect that they deserve. Mass Effect and its universe is their creation, and they can end it in the manner that they choose.

We, as a consumer, are destroying the gray area for interpretation of a medium or piece of art. What if all artist, directors, writers and actors had to change things that their fans didn't necessarily agree with or were happy with?

There's a place to fix your problems with the Mass Effect 3 ending. It's called fan fiction. That's where fans can craft their own ending, or answer their own questions. Or better yet, just give BioWare some time, and after a few months or a couple of years, you can ask them what happened? Why those choices?

Ridley Scott has answered questions about the ending to Blade Runner, which has multiple interpretations. People also wanted a clear cut answer to the questions left at the end. To this day, he still doesn't give them. The producer has said what the different endings are, but not what they think is what really happens.

I know that if I wrote a series of books, and after I finished the series, fans were like, “I loved the books, but the last chapter ruined it. It wasn't the ending I expected or wanted. Either give me my money back or write another chapter to change it or clarify it,” I'd say hell no. It is my work and my ideas. I'd expect that anyone would feel that way. It's a shot to you and your creativity.

So when the further closure or different ending for Mass Effect 3 gets released, what she we make of it? It's something they didn't plan to do. Do I think of it as the real ending and throw the other one aside? If that's the case, it feel robbed of the experience and emotions I went through already — like they were a waste of time or didn't happen. Do I look at it as fan fiction, since fans are forcing this? Or maybe it's a director's cut.